Practically undisturbed for almost 2,000 years, Saudi Arabia has opened the site to tourists, so I decided to have a look. The site is very well looked after and you cannot walk everywhere. You need to follow a group with a few guides supervising everyone. I personally don’t enjoy tourist groups but I do think this is necessary to keep preserving the masterpiece while spreading History.
Also, I found it very exciting to visit Hegra because it looks like Saudi still has so many treasures to discover still. And that Humanity is about to learn a lot very soon…
‘The Hegra Archaeological Site (or al-Hijr / Madā ͐ in Ṣāliḥ) is the first World Heritage property to be inscribed in Saudi Arabia. Formerly known as Hegra it’s the largest conserved site of the civilization of the Nabataeans.
It features well-preserved monumental tombs with decorated facades dating from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD.
The site also features some 50 inscriptions of the pre-Nabataean period and some cave drawings. Al-Hijr bears a unique testimony to Nabataean civilization. With its 111 monumental tombs, 94 of which are decorated, and water wells, the site is an outstanding example of the Nabataeans’ architectural accomplishment and hydraulic expertise.‘
I visited Petra (in Jordan) a few years back. I do think Petra is physically more impressive but Hegra definitely way more mysterious and exciting.
